Instructions for Navigating ACL.gov with a Keyboard

Screen readers and browsers have their own individual methods of handling navigation. There is no "one-size-fits-all" approach. This website has been tested with the NVDA screen reader due to its open source availability, browser compatibility, and robust ARIA support.

Top Navigation (Button Menu)

When on a main menu item, press the ENTER key to go to the menu item’s landing page.

Each main menu item (except for About Community Living and Programs) has a sub-menu under it. To access sub-menus from main menu items:

Press the SPACEBAR to expand a sub-menu

Press the ESC key to collapse a sub-menu. Pressing ESC will return you to the main navigation item for that sub-menu.

After collapsing a sub-menu by pressing the ESC key (once or twice depending upon if a screen reader is being used), resume using the TAB key to navigate main menu items.

Once inside a sub-menu, use either the TAB key or UP / DOWN arrow keys to navigate the sub-menu. Do not use the left/right arrow keys to navigate a sub-menu.

Use the LEFT / RIGHT arrow keys to move between top navigation menu items.

Press the ESC key (once or twice depending upon if a screen reader is being used) to return to the top navigation menu items. From there, resume navigating the top menu by using the TAB key or LEFT / RIGHT arrow keys.

Left Side Navigation (Tree Menu)

Use the TAB key to access the left navigation menu.

Pressing the ENTER key on a top-level menu item (denoted by a + sign) will take you to that menu item’s landing page.

On menu items with a sub-menu (denoted by a + sign), use the RIGHT arrow key to expand the sub-menu.

Use the LEFT arrow key to collapse a sub-menu.

Use the UP / DOWN arrow keys to navigate through the left navigation menu items.

Accordion Navigation (Expand/Collapse Content)

Accordions are found in the main text content of some pages on the site (denoted by a + sign), and contain expandable and collapsible content.

Use the TAB key to access accordions (note: accordions may or may not exist on any given page of the site).

To expand an accordion:

Press the ENTER key. The content within the accordion expands and can be navigated by using UP / DOWN arrow keys.

To collapse an accordion:

If you have already tabbed to an accordion title and have expanded it by pressing the ENTER key, press the ENTER key again to collapse it.

Either TAB (forward) or shift-TAB (backwards) to an accordion title and press the ENTER key to expand and collapse.